The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) recent installation of black-and-white ceramic tiles on central median dividers in Malabar Hill's D ward has come under scrutiny after campaigners criticised the BMC's ad hoc policy decisions, arguing that they should not be made at the expense of taxpayers.
The installation was part of BMC's city beautification project, for which the corporation had allocated INR 30 crore to each ward. As part of the project, INR 1.82 crore was used to install the tiles on the median dividers in D ward. While BMC referred to the project as a "trial project" to reduce the cost of maintaining dividers, campaigners have raised concerns about such experiments being carried out at the expense of public funds.
Santosh Daundkar, an RTI activist and D ward resident, has claimed that public funds had been spent on experiments and decision-makers must be held accountable for such arbitrary policy decisions. The vigilance department of the BMC has also warned all 24 wards to discourage the practice after the cost of hiring workers to clean the tiles on the central median dividers in D ward exceeded INR 21 lakh.
The chief engineer of vigilance has further written in a letter to the wards that fixing these tiles is unwise and the practice must be discouraged. The tiles were high-maintenance and were already getting destroyed.
A D ward civic official claimed that the tiles were visually pleasing and cleaning them was cheaper than repainting dirty dividers, the vigilance department warned that much of the tile work may deteriorate over time due to foot traffic and ongoing vibrations, leading to ongoing maintenance costs.
The chairperson of V Citizens' Action Network and a resident of Malabar Hill, Indrani Malkani, supported the tile brigade, arguing that the tiles were easier to maintain and could be a wise long-term decision.
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